[HN Gopher] Pillows to help workers snooze at desk
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Pillows to help workers snooze at desk
Author : thunderbong
Score : 65 points
Date : 2023-10-01 17:26 UTC (5 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (mainichi.jp)
(TXT) w3m dump (mainichi.jp)
| userbinator wrote:
| Odd contrast in culture; as someone who spent all my life in a
| society where "sleeping on the job" is considered absolutely
| unacceptable, this feels to me like it's solving the symptom but
| not the cause.
| [deleted]
| winrid wrote:
| I remember when we had a dedicated nap room at work, it was
| really nice and a ten min nap would greatly improve my
| productivity for the 2nd half of the day.
|
| At one point the new VP of Eng, who was fairly old, joked that "I
| should be the only one taking naps."
|
| They later put pingpong etc in the room and turned the lights
| back on.
|
| Stupid.
|
| Anyway always happy to see companies embracing naps. Much better
| than constant caffeine.
| baby wrote:
| Facebook had napping rooms. Saved my life a couple times
| m463 wrote:
| I worked somewhere that had a pool table and a futon.
|
| They got rid of the futon because they didn't want to be seen
| as a sweatshop.
| kwhitefoot wrote:
| What's the connection between futons and sweatshops?
| userbinator wrote:
| "We work you so hard that you need to sleep here too."
| 082349872349872 wrote:
| At my first job out of school my officemate and I had a couch
| in our office, which was often used for napping by our
| coworkers (who had individual offices and hence not so suitable
| furniture).
| daft_pink wrote:
| My friends in France complain when they are required to work a
| few extra minutes more than their contract.
|
| I don't know anything about work culture in Japan, but seeing
| something like this makes me wonder if Japanese companies are
| overworking their employees. Even though it is cool, and I
| totally want one!
| fgsfds028374 wrote:
| I visited the Japanese office of my company once and it struck
| me how much wasted time people put in the offices. They'd stay
| at the office super late, but nap for ~hours during the
| daytime!
|
| I think that there is a cultural pressure to show face and be
| physically present for a long period of time that is unrelated
| to actual productivity or performance.
| bufordtwain wrote:
| For info on work culture in Japan see
| https://www.kalzumeus.com/2014/11/07/doing-business-in-japan...
| smeej wrote:
| I have a skeletal deformity in my neck that causes severe
| cervicogenic headaches. One of the best ways to relieve them is
| to rest the front of my head on something, or even push against
| it.
|
| If anyone finds a place these are available in the U.S., please
| let me know. This could be a game-changer for me where nothing
| else works well.
| wahnfrieden wrote:
| use a site like dejapan to have it proxied. easy.
| kotaKat wrote:
| "The sleeping item will be available at electronics retailers
| and other stores from Oct. 15."
|
| Keep an eye out - I wonder if Amazon.jp will have them. If so,
| Amazon Japan often DOES allow you to ship direct to the US and
| you can just sign into AMZNJP with your .com credential and
| it'll let you get set up to order from that side.
|
| Otherwise, if you see it somewhere like Bic Camera or
| otherwise, there's services like Buyee and Zenmarket that can
| help coordinate getting it into the US. I've used Zenmarket
| before to buy a Makita cordless microwave from Bildy so I know
| it works, and I'm way too much of a frequent flyer at Buyee
| with my Yahoo Auctions habit...
| smeej wrote:
| Thank you for these detailed recommendations! I've set a
| calendar alert to check back then!
| pcl wrote:
| Looks like there are all sorts of adjustable massage table
| headrests on Amazon -- perhaps one of them would do the trick?
| vmaziman wrote:
| https://www.amazon.com/Skyrest-Inflatable-Airplanes-Napping-...
|
| This might be similar
| smeej wrote:
| I haven't found inflatable units to offer quite enough
| support or push back, but I appreciate the suggestion! The
| one in the article looks to be made of firmer stuff, but I
| could be wrong.
| nextos wrote:
| I have the same issue, and also experience relief by resting
| the front of my head. It is so bad these headaches often
| trigger visual artifacts.
|
| I have found that stretching my shoulder joints works well to
| stop my severe cervicogenic headaches when they are beginning
| to develop. I need to rotate my shoulders 90 degrees back till
| they click. My neck gets in place. Sometimes it does not work.
| Avoiding laptop work decreased the frequency of issues quite
| dramatically.
| amelius wrote:
| You may have a weak back, lower trapezius. Perhaps look into
| superman poses as a way of regaining strength, e.g.
| https://www.artofliving.org/nl-en/node/329473
| smeej wrote:
| Unfortunately my neck doesn't always get in place even when
| coerced by repetitive 15 psi hammering, and even when aligned
| well, there's a protrusion that aggravates a nerve that
| shoots the pain up into the head.
|
| I appreciate the suggestion, though, and I'm glad it works
| for you!
| whynotmaybe wrote:
| Have you tried massage chair?
|
| https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Professional-Light-Weight-Th...
| spondylosaurus wrote:
| If you can find one for sale on a Japanese retailer, there are
| third-party proxy services you can use to have it shipped to
| the US. IIRC some are platform-specific (like services for
| Yahoo! Japan auctions), and the proxy obviously adds to the
| total price, but it's all legit. I've bought a fair bit of
| stuff through proxies.
| dotancohen wrote:
| Suggestions for services that you have used would be
| appreciated.
| amelius wrote:
| They look like a massage table, without the rest of the table.
| [deleted]
| flashback2199 wrote:
| Inflatable ones have been around for a long time. They have a
| hole for your face and hollow cavity to breath inside. I bought
| one on AliExpress few years ago for about 10 bucks. Still haven't
| tried it yet, but they are supposed to be for sleeping on trains,
| etc.
| sergers wrote:
| Looks similar to those travel pillows except this is more rigid
| and not inflatable.
|
| Good idea, not sure how comfortable
| GordonS wrote:
| I saw a travel version of this recently, for use on airplanes,
| trains etc.
|
| Seems like a good idea (apart from folk reclining their seats
| mid-snooze), but they also seemed way too bulky to be useful for
| travelling. What I need is a truly portable version!
| codelikeawolf wrote:
| This is the first thing I thought of too. Those travel pillows
| don't work for me at all because I never feel like I'm
| "reclining". Out of a sense of empathy (as a person tall enough
| to feel incredibly cramped in airplane seats), I only put my
| seat back if the flight is longer than 5 hours (i.e.
| international travel). The only way I'm able to sleep is by
| resting my arms/head on the tray table. A travel version of
| this would be a game changer. The only drawback is if you
| really pass out and start drooling :)
| [deleted]
| elicash wrote:
| Yeah there's an inflatable version but it doesn't work well if
| the person in front of you reclines. If it was four inches
| taller you'd have the bottom part on your lap rather than the
| tray and it'd be pretty great
|
| https://www.amazon.com/Inflatable-Airplane-inflatable-Sleepi...
| GordonS wrote:
| I've asthma, and literally can't even blow up a balloon
| without feeling like I'm about to pass out! This could work
| for a lot of people tho.
| bisby wrote:
| I was able to get a tour of <redacted>'s factory. And it was
| super cool. My mother in law was with me and she was very
| surprised. "They have a cafeteria with cheap, great food,
| showers, rooms with beds for naps. This is awesome!" she said. I
| replied with, "Because they never want you to leave, they want
| you to live at the factory and work 24/7." ... She then went,
| "Well, that is a lot less exciting then."
|
| A 12-12:30 lunchtime nap? Perfect. An alternative to going home
| at night and just sleeping at the office (which I suspect is more
| in line with how things work in Japan)... no thanks.
| [deleted]
| RandomWorker wrote:
| The ergonomics won't work for me. I'm sure to sit comfortably
| I'll have my chin where the top of this pillow is.
| mcbrienollie wrote:
| Nice thinking but extremely bad for the spinal cord. Repeated
| usage of this will definitely cause a herniated disc or other
| orthopedic problems.
| dotancohen wrote:
| I'll debug a problematic SQL query with you, if you teach me
| how you came to your conclusion.
| jsndidneske wrote:
| Sell this in Baltimore and profit.
| squiffsquiff wrote:
| So an illustration of the sheer inhumanity of some work
| environments
| lettergram wrote:
| Yeah it's inhumane to work all day 0_o
| standardUser wrote:
| You're right, there is certainly nothing in our evolutionary
| history to suggest that "working all day" is a natural human
| way of being.
| robertlagrant wrote:
| Pretty sure a lot of people worked all day. The difference
| is they probably slept all night as well.
| fransje26 wrote:
| Pretty sure absolutely none of the "primitive" tribes
| work all day..
| VBprogrammer wrote:
| I don't think you have to go back that far. Before
| electric (and maybe gas lighting) it would be hard to
| have people working outside of the hours of daylight.
| Sure you could do some stuff by candlelight but it wasn't
| cheap if I understand correctly.
| hgopolis wrote:
| As a scientific word, work all day is unavoidable.
|
| Jobs that co-opt and expropriate outputs of our own work are
| the problem.
| meepmorp wrote:
| This, but unironically
| JKCalhoun wrote:
| Immediately reminded me of Chindogu [1]. But truly, I want one of
| these.
|
| [1] https://www.amusingplanet.com/2018/10/chindogu-japanese-
| art-...
| fransje26 wrote:
| "Shut up and take my money!"
|
| Please, pretty-please, consider exporting your product to
| Europe..
| phyzome wrote:
| So glad I work from home these days. Napping in the office was
| always uncomfortable -- one shitty cot in a nap room that wasn't
| always available and where the door didn't even lock. Sometimes I
| crawled under a desk or behind a cubicle.
|
| And that nap room was considered an amenity! But now I have my
| own bed, so instead of being a completely miserable and
| unproductive zombie, I can take a proper nap and then be alert
| and happy again.
| baby wrote:
| I had a friend that used to go in the staircase in the back of
| the office after lunch so he could take a nap. IMO that's the
| biggest downside of "working", alongside commute and timezones.
| yonaguska wrote:
| I used to be in an office overlooking Millennium Park in
| Chicago. when the weather was nice, a 20 min post lunch nap on
| a park bench did wonders for my productivity. I do miss it, but
| I have the superpower of being able to instantly sleep pretty
| much anywhere, anytime.
| analog31 wrote:
| A number of posts have mentioned that this could be a symptom of
| overwork, and I certainly don't dispute that possibility. On the
| other hand, I have a pleasant job with flexible hours, yet I
| still enjoy a brief nap in the afternoon -- even on weekends and
| vacation.
| rasz wrote:
| As a salaryman you are supposed to not leave office before your
| boss AND pretend to be working, pillow defeats the objective.
| pezezin wrote:
| I live in Japan. The part about not leaving the office before
| your boss depends on the company and it is not so true anymore,
| most of my Japanese colleagues punch out the second the bell
| rings. The part about pretending to work is very much true
| though.
| PlunderBunny wrote:
| But do the Japanese (and I'm rather grossly referring to a
| homogeneous proxy here) see it that way? Isn't it considered
| good to be tired at work, to the point where it's considered
| virtuous to be tired in the afternoon (because you've been
| working so hard)? I'm not saying this is a good thing, but just
| questioning whether - in a Japanese company - having a nap at
| your desk is considered 'bad'.
| RIMR wrote:
| Sleeping is not seen as lazy in Japan. You are correct that
| sleeping is viewed as the consequence of working hard. Public
| sleeping is common in Japan.
| robg wrote:
| If you have to choose, going to get caffeine or a nap, choose the
| nap.
|
| Best is to caffeinate then nap.
|
| https://lifehacker.com/naps-vs-coffee-which-is-better-when-y....
| blowski wrote:
| This is identical to the Ostrich pillow that was on Kickstarter
| about 10 years ago. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/studio-
| banana/ostrich-p...
|
| I remember it because they demoed it at TechHub.
| tanaros wrote:
| The picture in that Kickstarter doesn't look particularly
| identical to the picture in the article.
| mparnisari wrote:
| Haha I actually sleep in this position when in an airplane. But I
| use my neck pillow. I might actually buy one of these!
| neoecos wrote:
| Just landed after red eye flight and connecting and was
| thinking about this the whole flight
| smeej wrote:
| My favorite plane sleeping solution is to tie the arms of a
| long-sleeved T-shirt behind the headrest such that the body
| of the shirt hangs in front of your face and the shirt keeps
| your head from moving. No more nodding and waking yourself
| up! And bonus darkness!
| tass wrote:
| Do you get a seat in the back row? I can't picture how to
| do this without interfering with the seat's screen, tablet
| holder or tray table.
| bazzargh wrote:
| I bring a scarf and knot it under my chin (the normal way:
| fold in half, wrap around neck, put two loose ends through
| the loop; but tighter than normal, so the lump sits under
| the chin just to one side). Provides enough support that my
| head stays back and doesn't look weird.
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